Newport News capital murder trial set for 2014

NEWPORT NEWS — A Newport News man charged with capital murder in the killing of his wife and three stepchildren is scheduled to stand trial in January.

John Ragin, 37, is charged in the stabbing deaths of his wife, Crystal Ragin, a 32-year-old Army sergeant at Fort Eustis, and her three children — Sierra, 15; La'Kwan, 10; and Rasheed, 6.

During a hearing Thursday in Newport News Circuit Court attorneys picked Jan. 27, 2014 as the first day of the jury trial. Lawrence Woodward, Ragin's defense attorney, estimated the trial could take between three and five weeks. Several motions hearings have been scheduled throughout the year.

"There are quite a few people to be located that are all over the country," Woodward said.

Police say the victims were killed overnight between Aug. 18 and 19, 2011, and then their apartment on Old Courthouse Way was set on fire. The four bodies were found Aug. 19. A motive for their deaths hasn't been released by police.

Ragin has denied any involvement in their deaths. He was indicted by a grand jury in June on three counts of capital murder, one count of first-degree murder, four counts of unlawful stabbing in the commission of a felony, and arson.